The Headquarters of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, in Warri, was agog with celebrations on Tuesday following the announcement of the appointment of Hon Solomon Ighrakpata as the new Chairman of the reconstituted Board.
Hon Ighrakpata was a Member of the Internal Revenue Service Board from 2015 to 2018, before he resigned from the position to contest the 2019 Delta State House of Assembly election to represent Uvwie State Constituency.
The former Lawmaker who was the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, represented Delta Central on the IRS board and was the Chairman, Enforcement Taskforce.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section five, subsection two and section six, subsection one of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Service Law, 2020, forwarded Hon Ighrakpata name and four others to the State Assembly for screening and confirmation as Chairman and Executive Directors of the reconstituted Board.
Oborevwori’s message to that effect was made public by the Speaker, Rt Hon Emomotimi Guwor at Tuesday’s plenary of the House, in which the Governor explained that the reconstitution of the Board followed the expiration of the tenure of the former board.
That announcement, Correspondent gathered, triggered wide jubilation at the Warri office headquarters of the Delta State Internal Revenue Service, IRS, signaling the level of acceptance of the Man many described as a Servant leader, upright, disciplined and friendly.
They said the appointment of Ighrakpata as Chairman of the Board was a square peg in a square hole and commended the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori on the choice of the former Lawmaker to head the Revenue Board.
Ighrakpata, an Accountant, a Fellow Certified National Accountant (FCNA), Associate Member Chartered Institute of Taxation (ACIT) and a Fellow Nigerian institute of management (FNIM), was the Chairman, Delta State House of Assembly’s Committee on Special Duties and Deputy Chairman, Public Accounts Committee of the House from 2019 to 2023.
Calm and calculated, the Uvwie Palace Chief, had ensured that the voices of the people he represented in the Assembly were always heard on the floor of the House as his contributions to debates on Motions and Bills at the Hallowed Chamber, were outstanding.
Some of his colleagues who besieged his residence in Asaba sequel to the Tuesday’s announcement, described the appointment as one of the best made so far by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
They expressed optimism that Hon Ighrakpata will excel as the Chairman of the Delta State Internal Revenue Service Board and charged him to remain a shining ambassador of the 7th Delta State Assembly.